Apple Time Capsule (Mid 2011)

Oh so stealthily this morning, Apple bumped the storage capacity on its router and hard drive combo Time Capsule ($299-$499). Now you have the option of 2 or 3TB for the same prices as before; either model should be enough to wireless back up two or three of your home computers. Previously rumored features, such as an A4 or A5 processor inside for dramatically improved functionality, either didn’t make the cut this time or haven’t been promoted in any way by Apple.

On top of the Wi-Fi networking, shared hard drive, and USB printing support, the newest model also suggests subtle improvements to the prior generation models’ wireless backup capabilities. It still works with the Time Machine software on all of the Macs on your network, making automatic backups throughout the day. Apple’s web site claimed 60% faster backups with the prior-generation model; unspecified new technologies—possibly just improvements on the software side—now claim to make the whole process up to 75% faster. Our advice with the Time Capsule remains the same as before: it’s a fine passive backup solution, but still on the slow side, and could be doing so much more.